The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 175,767 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 8,605 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $37,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MBB Public Markets I LLC raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 1,699.7% during the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 16,017 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,439,000 after buying an additional 15,127 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 315.2% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 138,672 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,771,000 after acquiring an additional 105,272 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,789,436 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $813,554,000 after purchasing an additional 37,386 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its stake in Norfolk Southern by 225.6% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 25,978 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $5,204,000 after purchasing an additional 18,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 39.5% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 100,321 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $21,538,000 after purchasing an additional 28,432 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Benchmark boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Norfolk Southern from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norfolk Southern

In other news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,655. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $245.15 per share, with a total value of $171,605.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,655. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard H. Anderson bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $247.48 per share, for a total transaction of $494,960.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $742,440. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NSC stock opened at $246.47 on Monday. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 12-month low of $183.09 and a 12-month high of $263.66. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $55.68 billion, a PE ratio of 39.69, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The railroad operator reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.20. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.96%.

Norfolk Southern Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.